Roy Eldridge

Roy Eldridge was born on January 30, 1911 in Pittsburgh, Pa. He started out playing drums at the age of six and moved on to the bugle and then the trumpet. He formed his first band when he was a teenager and during the 1920's played with the territory bands of Horace Henderson and Zach White.

In 1930 he arrived in New York and worked with Cecil Scott, Teddy Hill, Mckinney's Cotton Pickers, and Elmer Snowden in Harlem. He was featured with the Fletcher Henderson orchestra. During the 1940's, Eldridge played with Gene Krupa and Artie Shaw. He lived in Paris for a couple of years and after returning spent most of the 1950's touring with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic.

He accompanied Ella Fitzgerald and played with the Count Basie Band during the 1960's and from 1970-1980 held a steady gig at Jimmy Ryan's club in Manhattan. A stroke in 1980 ended his career as a full time musician. Roy Eldridge died February 26, 1989 in Valley Stream, NY.

"Decidedly" is a 2002 Fantasy release of a 1975 live concert in Antibes, France. The personnel are Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Johnny Griffin on tenor sax, Ray Bryant and Milt Jackson on piano, Joe Pass on guitar, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Louis Bellson on drums.

There are four tunes on this session. Eldridge's original "Bee's Blues," "Lover Man," "Undecided,' and Monk's "Hackensack." The recording is over 53 minutes and the musicians get a chance to stretch out a bit. A fine recording.

Roy Eldridge received the nickname "Little Jazz" early in his career and it lasted his whole life. He had a hard driving style and was the leading trumpet player of his era. He served as a link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie.

Here's a video of Roy with Anita O'Day and the Gene Krupa Orchestra doing "Let Me Off Uptown"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8yaW6BluwY&feature=player_detailpage